A Nottingham hero who was told he may never be able to have children after being shot in the privates during the Second World War has gone on to enjoy a long life with a large family, including four children and 23 great-grandchildren.

The 92-year-old veteran landed on the beaches of Normandy the day after D-day, in 1944, and fought through the continent before being cornered by a German soldier.

Now, more than 70 years on from being severely injured and captured as a prisoner of war, Eric Edwards is the proud father of four - two boys and twin girls; 10 grandchildren and a whopping 23 great-grandchildren.

Mr Edwards also still has 10 pieces of shrapnel floating around his body which he sustained during heavy shelling during the war.

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He has spoken about his experiences during his days in the conflict after being appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, a prestigious French honour, established in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte.

Eric Edwards with his medal

While pushing the Germans back to Berlin, he was shot four times. He said: “I got a bullet straight through the penis.

Asked how it happened, he said: “I don’t know, but I’ve got a scar on each side. It went in one side and out the other. I’ve still got little bits of shrapnel in my body.

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Speaking to the Post, Mr Edwards explained that he had been told by army medics that he may never be able to have children because of the wound, and the fact that he had around 10 large pieces of shrapnel in his body at the time.

Mr Edwards said: “I was called up when I was 18, and I spent quite a long time in Dover where we were getting shelled quite badly.

“It was when we were in Belgium, we had taken a farm and I got hit by four German machine gun bullets. The farmer and his wife gave me shelter.

Eric Edwards with his medal

“I got captured then, and - I’ll never forget this - one German soldier pointed his rifle at me, and his sergeant went up and hit him for it.

“When they were taking me off, I just saw this big crater and I jumped in it as a shell went off, and I got five more lumps of shrapnel in my body.

“As I was lying there, I was just thinking ‘I’m going to die’ when I got the second lot of shrapnel. I was lying in a sort of trench which had been dug in the mud.

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“After about an hour, some German soldiers came, they took me to this house and even offered me some bread. There were some good ones, I must say that.

“In the camp, we were right next to Bergen-Belsen. We didn’t know what was happening at the time, but you could smell it, and the prisoners looked very rough.”

Mr Edwards explained that his camp, Stalag 11b, also known as Fallingbostel, had been liberated by the same British soldiers that liberated the concentration camp next door. He was then taken back to Nottingham, where he received more medical treatment.

The war hero with seven of his 10 grandchildren and 14 of his 23 great grandchildren (Image: Samantha Newbold)

He said: “When I got off at Nottingham Victoria, people recognised that I was coming back from the war, and they all said I’ll take him home. But my dad worked on the buses for the corporation so I said to them ‘I’m going to get a bus thanks'."

After the war, Mr Edwards went back to his pre-war job at Players, but ended up working for the Co-Op bakery for more than 40 years, starting with bread rounds and ending in management.

Speaking about the honour he received from the French government, he said: “It’s a real honour, it’s brilliant to be receiving it. And the reason it’s taken so long is that all of the medals are hand-made.”

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A letter from the French Ambassador, Sylvie Bermann, to him said: “As we contemplate this Europe of peace, we must never forget the heroes like you, who came from Britain and the Commonwealth to begin the liberation of Europe by liberating France.

“We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life.”

Mr Edwards' daughter, Wendy Newbold, 69, from Clifton, said: "I'm very very proud of him. I was chuffed when I found out about his medal, and it was quite a long time waiting for it, so when it came I was just so proud - there were a few tears!

Mr Edwards, circled, on one of the D Day landing craft (Image: Samantha Newbold)

"He didn't speak much about it when I was growing up, the only thing I knew about it really was that he had been involved in D-Day, and he always said he wished he could shake the hand of the German soldier who rescued him.

"He always said to my mum that they wouldn't be able to have kids because of the injury, and mum always joked that she only married him because she thought they weren't going to be able to have kids!"